'Most of the restructuring in equities has happened', Jonathan Beebe said in a December 11th interview at Barclays’s investment-banking headquarters in London. He declined to comment on the bank’s hiring. 'Revenue growth this year is around 10% for the top 10 banks. That environment may create the need for some banks to look to hire'.

A growing equities headcount would buck the trend in other investment bank operations. European lenders, which eliminated more than 140,000 jobs in two years, will cut at least 5% of trading and advisory staff next year, a survey of three London-based investment-bank recruiters showed this month. The reductions could reach 15%, according to two of them, who asked not to be named.